


A Chance Encounter

by Akiko_Natsuko



Series: The Zine Collection [1]
Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: Blood and Injury, First Meetings, M/M, Missions Gone Wrong
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-07
Updated: 2018-11-07
Packaged: 2019-08-20 08:18:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,439
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16552223
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Akiko_Natsuko/pseuds/Akiko_Natsuko
Summary: When a mission takes a turn for the worse, Gabriel finds himself face to face with an unlikely ally.





	A Chance Encounter

    Several shots hit the plasterboard above Gabriel’s head, showering him in dust and it would have blinded him if he hadn’t ducked down at the sound of the triggers and he bit back a curse as he rolled to the side, avoiding the next hail of gunfire and bringing up his own weapons as he surged back to his feet. He was no quickdraw like young McCree, but each shot met their target, each a fatal shot although unfortunately he was not quick enough to stop the last man getting off a final lucky shot, fire blazing through his shoulder.  Biting his lip to hold back a cry of pain, certain that there would be more guards around, Gabriel hastily retreated into the room he had entered through, ducking down against the wall, forcing himself to check his guns and ammunition before allowing himself to look at the wound.

    It wasn’t the worse one he’d had, but it was bleeding heavily and as he moved he could make out a dull glint of metal and he grimaced, even with his enhancements it would be a hindrance for the rest of the mission and he had no way of getting the bullet out right now. _It’ll be an easy mission, in and out,_ his own words from that morning mocked him as he let his head fall back against the wall and he bit back a chuckle. He should’ve known better, after all when had he ever had an easy mission?

Footsteps.

    Any hopes he’d had of having a moment to recover flew out the window and stifling a groan he forced himself back to his feet, the weight of his guns sending a flare of pain through his shoulder that had lights dancing across his vision. Still, he’d worked with worse and closing his eyes he tracked the footsteps as they moved closer…three, no four men closing in on his position. These weren’t the same as the hired hands he’d just taken down, they moved nearly silently and any metal they carried had been muffled, and his fingers tensed against his guns, knowing that this fight wouldn’t be as easy to swing in his favour. Still, getting himself killed on an ‘easy’ mission like this wasn’t on the books, and he waited until one of the brushed against one of the bodies he’d left in the hallway, the muffled thump deafening in the silence and then he lunged into the doorway and opened fire.

     He’d just taken down one, narrowly missing taking another bullet in the shoulder as he moved to use the door frame as shelter, wincing as it splintered under the onslaught, and he was about to open fire again when he spied something narrow flying towards him only to arc downwards at the last minute, embedding itself in the wooden floor between him and his attackers. It took him a moment to understand what he was seeing, and just as the arrow begin to emit a sonic pulse he lifted his head, trying to see further down the corridor, eyes widening as he spied movement a split second before a sharp voice cracked through the air.

“Get behind the wall!” Gabriel wasn’t the best at following orders, something his friends and superiors complained about a little too often, but he had an instinct for survival that was second to none and he immediately ducked back inside the room, pressing against the wall. And not a moment to soon, as he heard an odd whistling sound before the agents who had been so professional seconds before cried out in alarm, falling silent one by one. His curiosity getting the better of him, Gabriel risked a peek around the corner, whistling as he watched the arrows that were currently filling the corridor, bouncing from wall to floor in a storm of flickering blue.

    By the time the blue faded, and the last arrow had clattered to the ground, the four agents were down, and Gabriel didn’t bother checking them for signs of life as the arrows protruding from the narrow gaps in their body armour told their own story.  Instead his attention was riveted to the man who was now picking his way between the bodies, moving with a grace that Gabriel would have envied had he not been more concerned with the bow he was carrying. It wasn’t notched now, but Gabriel had a feeling it wouldn’t take long to change that and after seeing how good the man was with it, he wasn’t willing to chance it, lowering his guns just enough to not appear immediately threatening. The gesture didn’t go unnoticed and after a second, the man slung the bow up and over his shoulder, still steadily moving closer.

    This close there was no missing the similarities in the man’s features, and Gabriel tensed, regretting lowering his weapons and torn between raising them again and trying to end this peacefully. It wasn’t his place to act against this man, and yet…

   The moment passed, and the archer had reached him, seemingly unfazed by the sight of the guns as dark eyes, so alike and yet so different from Genji’s moved to his bloody shoulder. “Let me look at that.” It wasn’t a request and Gabriel felt his lip curl slightly at the tone behind it, that of someone who was used to being obeyed. However, he had to admit that the archer could easily have taken him out already, all he’d had to do was shoot without that warning and Gabriel would have been in the line of fire. Still, he was slow, reluctance in every movement as he nodded before letting himself settle on the ground, laying his guns in his lap, the message clear and he didn’t know what to make of the bitter twist of the archer’s lips or the hesitation before he crouched down beside him. It almost seemed as though he was considering it, but then his expression evened out into a blank mask as he reached out towards Gabriel, hands completely steady, as though his would-be patient wasn’t capable of shooting him at any moment.

“You were a fool to come here alone.”

“Yeah,” Gabriel grimaced, biting back a protest when surprisingly gentle fingers probed at the wound. “I figured that out for myself.”  There was no way he was going to mention that he had a team waiting to extract him, although he was tempted to point out that the archer was clearly alone too, although he supposed in his defence he wasn’t the one sat here with a bullet in his shoulder.

“Then you’re not a lost cause.” There was no trace of a smile on the stern face, but he could hear amusement behind the words and he couldn’t help but snort.

“You must be one of the few people to think that.” There’s a little too much bitterness in that and he caught the way dark eyes, more solemn that Genji’s and haunted, in a way that Gabriel had never thought they could possibly be, flickered to him before the archer glanced away.

“At least I’m not the only one.” It’s an opening, and normally Gabriel would have leapt at the chance, but he couldn’t bring himself to do it and the moment passed. “We need to remove that,” the archer tilted his head towards the wound, and Gabriel stiffened. It was true, and he was worried about his enhanced healing kicking in and making the process more difficult, but it was one thing letting this man examine his wound and another thing entirely to let him go digging around inside it. Especially when he knew exactly who this man was and what he was capable of, and yet Gabriel had only lived this long because of his instincts and the chances they had encouraged him to take, and something was telling him that as dangerous as the man was, he wasn’t a threat to him. At least not right now, and he took a deep breath, praying that his communicator wasn’t on as he finally released his hold on one of his guns and held out his hand.

“If you’re going to be digging around in my shoulder, then I’d at least like your name. I’m Gabriel.” He wasn’t going to give more than that, and he had a feeling there was no way he was going to get a family name from the archer. Still, there was a pause before the archer reached out and slowly clasped his hand, eyes more haunted than before and his voice barely above a whisper.

“Hanzo…”


End file.
